The Common UFO Sightings Database

07.02.2016

The UFO Database serves as a central archive for electronic documentations of reported UFO sightings in German-speaking countries. The objective is to enable the transparency of the work of UFO associations to researchers and interested people, as well as to enable investigations of cases or research questions.

Furthermore, visitors of the UFO Database can report their own UFO sighting and make it accessible to a UFO association or a case investigator for contact and investigation. In Germany, this type of UFO report via our database has become the most commonly used by UFO sighters.

The storage of contents in the UFO Database is bound by a neutral mindset without any fixed hypothesis about the UFO phenomenon itself: We have no conclusive, scientific knowledge about the cause(s) of the so far unexplained UFO sightings or about the similarities and differences between unexplained UFO cases and conventional sighting stimuli (IFO cases). Therefore, any reported UFO sighting, irrespective of its eventual investigation result, will be registered in the UFO Database. Thus, we follow the 100% rule of qualitative research and allow any kind of research question, also investigations including IFO cases.

Meanwhile, the UFO Database has a history spanning more than ten years. After preceding plans, the first version based on PHP/MySQL has been developed by Christian Czech in cooperation with the GEP, and was published in 2007. Also in 2007, the UFO cases of the German researcher Michael Hesemann were included into the database. The cases of the DEGUFO were added in 2008. Also in 2008, UFO case reports from the disclosed files of the British Ministry of Defence have been integrated into the UFO Database. CENAP, the private group of researchers, objected to a use of their case files in 2012.

From 2012 to 2015, the UFO Database has been completely redeveloped by Johannes Wagner, based on ASP.NET/MSSQL. Since then, the data model is based on the contents of the joint questionnaire of the participating UFO associations (which itself determines the information needed from a UFO sighter) as well as on known classifications and schemes used in case investigations. With the published version of the new UFO Database in 2015, the UFO cases of MUFON-CES were added.

Searching UFO Sightings in the UFO Database

Today, the UFO Database is the most important instrument for UFO sighting reports, case investigations, documentation and data evaluation in German-speaking countries. We will continue to improve the UFO Database, e.g. with a multilingual user interface, automatic import of completed questionnaires, standard interfaces for data transfer etc. The German Cooperation Initiative UFO Research is now the managing organisation of the UFO Database as a common project.